Making a mud tub

[MkIII]

Thank you all for your replies! I may have misrepresented how far along I was in the process; I'm still planning things out. I've decided to go with a smaller stock tank; after seeing the 2×8×3 in person, I realized it was overkill. 2×6×2 gives me a comfortable amount of space to submerge, albeit not much room to move on the sides. Still, gotta work with the space I have.

Another question that some of you have alluded to (now that I've done more pricing): what other clay or clay-like material would be a good substitute for bentonite? Seems like the best price I've found on it so far is $22 for a 50 lb bag, so that's gonna rack up quickly. I'm not looking for spa quality; just something with the feel of clay that won't give me lead poisoning.

[Fred588]

Thank you all for your replies! I may have misrepresented how far along I was in the process; I'm still planning things out. I've decided to go with a smaller stock tank; after seeing the 2×8×3 in person, I realized it was overkill. 2×6×2 gives me a comfortable amount of space to submerge, albeit not much room to move on the sides. Still, gotta work with the space I have.

Another question that some of you have alluded to (now that I've done more pricing): what other clay or clay-like material would be a good substitute for bentonite? Seems like the best price I've found on it so far is $22 for a 50 lb bag, so that's gonna rack up quickly. I'm not looking for spa quality; just something with the feel of clay that won't give me lead poisoning.

Keep looking for a better price. I last purchased some last spring so maybe it has gone up, but it was about 12.00 for a 50-pound bag then.

[MkIII]

One last question: I've found some oil absorbent that is mostly montmorillonite clay, but has some silica in it. I know about the dust risk, but I'll be prepping it outside and I plan to use a mask. Will the silica be a problem once it's mixed in with water?

[Fred588]

One last question: I've found some oil absorbent that is mostly montmorillonite clay, but has some silica in it. I know about the dust risk, but I'll be prepping it outside and I plan to use a mask. Will the silica be a problem once it's mixed in with water?

I am not competent to make a judgment on that but I would strongly suspect that the danger from silica is breathing it's dust. So, if it is wet I doubt if there would be a problem. There are, however, risk management standards for almost everything and should be easy enough to obtain. I would, on the other hand, want to investigate what is meant by "mostly."

[Duncan Edwards]

One last question: I've found some oil absorbent that is mostly montmorillonite clay, but has some silica in it. I know about the dust risk, but I'll be prepping it outside and I plan to use a mask. Will the silica be a problem once it's mixed in with water?

Dust isn't much of a problem but it works by turning into a very unusable sludge. Don't waste time on it.